Kevin James Historical Campaign for Mayor

Why Kevin James matters in the Fight for Jobs in Hollywood

Sharon Jimenez and Kevin James on the night of the election

Kevin James, the entertainment attorney, former federal prosecutor, and radio talk show host, made history when he came in third place in the race for Mayor of Los Angeles this month. Outspent a whopping 11 million dollars by his opponents, Kevin James managed to come from nowhere in a city just ranked 2nd in the nation for corruption. In the final hours of the campaign Kevin James brought out the toughest TV ad ever, confronting LA’s legacy for corruption while filing a Securities & Exchange Commission complaint against the City of Los Angeles saying that city officials, in an attempt to cover up the city’s fiscal problems, have been moving money around and engaging in fraud to cover up the truth about the city’s pending insolvency.

Introducing Kevin James at his campaign wrap election night party in Los Feliz, I got a great reaction from his supporters comparing the candidate to a washing machine. “You can’t get your clothes clean unless the machine has an ‘agitator’ and Kevin James is our best hope of getting LA clean.”

Only 14 percent of registered voters came out to vote. No doubt most don’t even know LA is on the brink of bankruptcy or that Kevin James is the candidate who is calling for transparency in exposing the city’s money problems. The Bring Hollywood Home foundation heard Kevin James loud and clear when he started to call “runaway production” job “outsourcing.” Finally a truthful candidate for public office in California is willing to expose the truth about the tragic loss of jobs in Los Angeles in film, TV, commercial and music production.

No doubt most voters do not know that LA’s gold is being stolen every day, and jobs are outsourced to other states and countries. Union members jump on airplanes and leave town for jobs that are being grabbed in financial deals put together in Hollywood sending our skilled entertainment industry workers out of town.

What Kevin James knows is that 30% of the unions’ skilled laborers are left here in Los Angeles every month unable to find jobs. Kevin James, in collaboration with the Bring Hollywood Home Foundation, has published a Los Angeles Production Incentive Plan that would offer jobs to unemployed union workers willing to negotiate salaries with independent producers who would make movies in LA if the numbers could be competitive.

Until the State of California ends the lottery for independent filmmakers and passes tax credits that are competitive with 40 other states and a dozen other countries, the only possibility for making movies, television, and commercials in California is to openly discuss new ways to keep the jobs here in LA.

Wendy Greuel and Eric Garcetti both needed the votes Kevin James earned in the March 5th election if they are to win and become Mayor of Los Angeles. They both refused to publicly debate job outsourcing in Hollywood because they needed the money from the special interests involved in outsourcing jobs.

Now Kevin James the endorsed candidate by the Bring Hollywood Home Foundation is in a position to hold the two accountable for runaway production.

This is an historic moment in LA history followed by an historic campaign led by a candidate who can affect the outsourcing of jobs from Hollywood. With Kevin James holding his votes in the balance, there is a slim chance for serious reform if the runoff includes Kevin James’ Los Angeles Production Incentive Plan. Kevin James is the one who can wash LA clean in the cover-up of runaway production.